


How Soon Is Now?

by Lothiriel84



Series: And after all this time [4]
Category: MarsCorp (Podcast)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Foreshadowing, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mild Language, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-19 00:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15498537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: I am human and I need to be lovedJust like everybody else does





	How Soon Is Now?

“Well, if it isn’t _the_ Colin Denham – we’ve heard so much about you, haven’t we, darling?”

“We definitely have,” the woman nodded curtly in his general direction, but it was apparent that she was barely interested in having this conversation, and would very much rather go straight back to the open bar.

“Congratulations on your big day, my boy,” Mr Knight went on, clearly used to his wife’s irritability to the point that he scarcely noticed it anymore. “And a most valuable acquisition for the Science Department, I daresay.”

“That’s not for me to say, Sir, but it’s definitely a great honour and privilege on my part.”

The man nodded several times, as if expressing his approval to the room at large. “And what a polite young man you are – your parents must be ever so proud.”

He merely smiled by way of a reply, as modestly as he knew how. His parents would probably drop dead if they ever suspected the full extent of his misdemeanours and repeated acts of gross indecency; still, he was a full employee at last, and his actions were officially none of their concern now.

“And where is young David, if I may?” he ventured to ask, just as Mrs Knight finally got her hands on a glass of champagne. “I don’t think I have seen him anywhere, I hope he’s not unwell.”

“Oh, I swear that ungrateful little rascal will never learn to behave like a proper True Blue. I wouldn’t worry about him, he’s probably slunk off somewhere with that dreadful friend of his.”

Her husband cleared his throat uneasily, shooting a nervous glance all around them. “Darling, you shouldn’t be talking like this – you know how sensitive Mr Kingsley gets when it comes to his sole offspring and heir.”

“Well, he shouldn’t let her run about like one of those Orange urchins. She might grow up to be the Ruler of the Mine one day, but she still needs discipline, like any other kid.”

 _I’d show you discipline, you stuck-up bitch_ , Colin thought to himself, his polite smile still unfaltering. _No wonder poor David always looks like he’s half a second away from falling to pieces._

Thank the Shareholders Mr Knight now looked about as eager to get away from this conversation as he himself was. “Yes, well. I think we should go and pay our respects to your parents as well – we’ll see you around, Denham.”

“Good riddance,” he huffed under his breath, downing the last of his drink in one go. Let the pair of idiots keep his boring parents occupied for a while, as he focussed on more pressing matters – like, for instance, where his tiny sidekick had got himself to. Not twenty-four hours prior, the boy had been a literal bundle of excitement at the prospect of Colin’s early graduation from his internship to full employee status; the fact that he hadn’t even bothered showing up at all today just didn’t compute, and he was starting to get a little concerned about David’s wellbeing.

He knew for a fact that he wasn’t with Angelica, as he had actually gone through the effort of double-checking with the pocket-sized tyrant earlier on; that unfeeling woman David had the misfortune of calling his mother might not care about her son’s whereabouts, but that didn’t mean the boy didn’t deserve someone to check on him after being this much conspicuous by his absence.

There was just the one place David ever appeared to feel at home in, and that was precisely where Colin was headed right now. He punched in the security code to the laboratory as fast as his fingers would let him; the keypad might be too high for the boy to reach, but he knew full well that his young friend had a talent for sneaking in unnoticed, especially during one of the CleanerBots’ rounds.

His hand hesitated on the light switch for a moment, then he decided against it; the harsh neon lights would only startle the boy, and there was enough light coming in from the panels overhead for him to see anyway.

It wasn’t the sight of the forlorn figure hiding under one of the lab benches – all curled up to take as little space as the law of physics and biology would allow – that took him by surprise; it was the sound coming out of him, like the wail of a wounded Earth animal in one of those wildlife documentaries of old. Without any conscious decision on his part he found himself kneeling in front of the boy, clumsily checking his body for any noticeable sign of sickness or injury.

“What is it, buddy? You know you can tell me, right?”

David’s sobbing only grew louder, his small hands clutching at the front of Colin’s shirt with such desperate intensity that he would swear he could feel his heart break, just a little.

“Did someone hurt you? I’m going to make them regret the day they were born, I promise.”

“No-o-o,” the boy managed to articulate in between sobs. “I-I’m not – hurt.”

“What is it then? Please, David, you’re scaring me.”

“It’s s-stupid. St-stupid David,” he gulped out, finally letting go of Colin in favour of punching himself instead.

Colin was forced to get hold of both of his hands, applying just enough pressure to prevent him from attempting to hurt himself again. “None of that, buddy. You’re far from stupid, you can trust me on this one. You’re the smartest kid I’ve ever known, and I won’t let anyone tell you otherwise – not even yourself, you hear me?”

As if exhausted by his own violent outburst, the boy stopped struggling as abruptly as he had started it. He slumped against Colin’s chest, silent tears still running down his cheeks, and let himself be gathered into a comforting embrace.

“Shh, it’s okay. Whatever it is, we’ll fix it – you and I, together. That’s what friends are for, remember?”

They remained like that for quite some time, David’s tiny hand eventually finding its way into Colin’s hair. He let the boy twirl a loose strand around his fingers, cradled him gently until he’d calmed down enough to be able to speak again.

“Colin?” David whispered at length, his face still tucked into the hollow of his neck.

“Yes, buddy, I’m here. What is it?”

“Are you going to get married now?”

He paused, momentarily taken aback by the question; anxiety was emanating off the boy in waves now, his small body tense and unnaturally still in his arms.

“Why on Mars should I want to get married?” he blurted out at length, and just like that, he felt all of the tension leave David’s body; the small hand that had been buried in his hair found its place around his neck, and he felt the sudden urge to take the child as far away from this damned place as they could go, and to hell with everyone else.

How had he not seen this coming? For all that he could not be less interested in cumbersome entanglements such as stable relationships or family life, that was precisely what was expected from a now full employee; settle down, start a family of his own – all for the good of MarsCorp, quite obviously. As genuinely happy as David had been for his promotion, he must also have been secretly terrified at the prospect of his only real friend ditching him in favour of his future offspring; and having just had the displeasure of meeting the boy’s parents, he didn’t have to guess to know how desperate the poor thing was for a surrogate paternal figure – someone that genuinely supported him, rather than berating him for not being able to fit into a box of their choice.

“Tell you what – while we’re here, we might as well take a closer look at those glow-in-the-dark plants you helped me engineer the other day. What do you say to that, buddy?”

A tremulous smile finally appeared on the boy’s face, and it was one of the most beautiful things Colin had ever seen. He wiped away the last of the boy’s tears with his own handkerchief, then took him by the hand and led the way to the bio-engineering lab.


End file.
